


Home among the stars

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Erik is a Sweetheart, Families of Choice, Genosha, Getting Together, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mutant Powers, Mutant Pride, Non-Linear Narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24487486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Charles's mother always told him he shouldn't go to space. After his 'accident' he could have left those dreams behind. Instead, he purchased a ship and a rocky outcrop of a planet, and set about giving mutantkind a home.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Lorna Dane & Erik Lehnsherr & Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff
Comments: 76
Kudos: 54
Collections: Cherik Week 2020





	1. Space

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Lavenderlotion for proofreading and encouraging, and Insertsthmeaningful for the title. And Triffidsandcuckoos, for encouraging me to write space in the first place.
> 
> This fic is going to cover all seven prompts I've chosen in a non-linear story.

Charles gazed out of the wide window, staring out into the emptiness of the space, looking out at the beauty of the vastness before them. It was incredible, the kind of view he'd only dreamed of as a child back on Westchester. His mother had always told him he wouldn't go into space, that it wasn't somewhere he should be, that it wasn't for the likes of him - that the Xaviers weren't space-farers. They were too wealthy for that, too important. They didn't need to go out and risk their lives - they could afford to live in comfort. Let the poor worry about travel, about overcrowding, about supplying resources. They had all they could need, and would always be able to get more. Worry was for other people, not for them, and he was not to dream of space.

She’d smashed his first telescope in a drunken rage.

At least she'd said that space wasn’t for him, until she had learned about his unusual gift. When she had known he was a mutant, she had been more ashamed of him, and suddenly she'd been more willing to consider his ambitions. Being linked to a mutant was seen as something shameful, something that could damage her reputation in a way the actions of her husband and step-son didn’t. So she encouraged him to leave, to disconnect from the family. Until his step-brother decided he was moving too slow and had tried to get rid of him, and he'd almost been disinherited as he fought to stay alive, to survive what had been done and to recover from his injury. It was then his plans had changed - he wasn’t going to disappear off into space and leave behind his birthright. When he left, he was taking with him what was rightfully his.

In the end, he had succeeded and gained his inheritance: the Xavier fortune. He could have done whatever he wanted: purchased a private island on an exotic garden world, had a house built that was suited for him, and he and Raven could have lived out their lives in peace. That could have been enough. But it wasn't.

He couldn’t ignore the need of other mutants, those that were abandoned by their families, those that were used by the laboratories and mining firms and were trapped. Those who were cut off from their powers, or forced to use them to fulfill human goals, human aims. Those who needed help, and Charles had wanted desperately to be the one to do it, to have them saved by one of their own kind.

He had spoken to Raven, to check he had her support, and then he had used almost all of the fortune that he had to buy the rights to a small planet that was considered uninhabitable. G3N05HA - Genosha, Raven had called it, was a small rocky outcrop, with deep valleys and previous bombardment by asteroids. It contained some metals, but it was considered too poor to mine, and whilst it had an atmosphere, the oxygen level was weak. Nothing could have grown there. 

Once Genosha was his, he set about finding a spacecraft that would be able to get there. He found the Cerebro, one from the initial human fleet. It had been a research vessel, and it was old, which made it cheap. Alone, he would have been stuck, but with Erik’s help he was able to restore it to a point where it was suitable for their needs at least. It would be small and cramped, uncomfortable had it been their only living quarters for years at a time. But to transport mutants from the various inhabited planets and sections of the fleet and to take them to the world he was setting up - it would be suitable.

He had hoped it would be suitable.

Finding a crew had been a challenge, but by then he’d spent a lot of time investigating, working out who he could hire, who he could purchase. He would explain his plan, offer them a chance to live on his planet, and explain what they already had. It wasn’t always suitable - the teleporter he approached had decided he would stay planet-side, and planned to leave the ship the first chance he got - but mostly, mutants took their chance with him.

So he assembled a crew. Married couple Scott Summers and Jean Grey were the pilots, Scott using his skill at calculating trajectories and Jean using her telekinesis to ensure they could get out from tight spots. Scott and Jean’s boyfriend, alongside Scott’s brother, handled security on the ship, and when Erik went off on rescues he took Logan, leaving Alex to defend the home base. Emma Frost, a childhood friend of Charles’s and also a telepath, handled the communication with the earth fleets, Hank McCoy served as the ship’s doctor and on-board researcher, Sean Cassidy was the cook, and Darwin was the chief engineer. Irene Adler, Raven’s wife, was able to pass on important information using her precognition, and handled the care of a few mutant children who had been rescued, whilst Raven worked in logistics. 

It was a small crew, smaller than a ship this size should have had, but there were other mutants there who were willing to lend a hand if needed, and they made it work.

Charles was helped, of course, by Erik. Erik his brilliant, fiery, argumentative second in command, who was gifted with metallokinesis - his first recruit, and the first person Charles turned to in his times of need. Erik and a handful of others would be vital in reshaping Genosha into a mutant home-world.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up, and he found Erik gazing down at him with a fond smile on his face. "Were you daydreaming again?”

“Only a little,” Charles admitted, stretching his arms above his head.

“No daydreaming on the bridge,” Erik reminded, leaning down to press his lips against Charles’s own for a moment. Charles’s heart beat faster in his chest at the way Erik was willing to show off their relationship. There had been a time when he'd first met Erik, when Erik had been afraid of showing any emotion at all. It had hardly been surprising after everything the man had endured, and yet it made every kiss so much sweeter.

"Hey Chuck, no fair," Logan muttered from by the door. "You told me off for kissin' Scott the other day."

"I would hardly call that kissing." Charles muttered. "Anyway, privilege of bankrolling the ship." He stretched again, realising he really was quite tired.

"Maybe it is time to get some rest..." he admitted, giving a few instructions. There were no expected problems, and Scott and Jean were competent. He was leaving his ship in safe hands. He turned around and wheeled towards the door which opened automatically.

 _Be there soon._ Erik's thoughts brushed his mind as the doors closed, and Charles smiled to himself.


	2. Mutant Society

Genosha's sun rose sluggishly, flooding the land with a strange golden light. Here the sun always rose slowly, but set quickly. Charles smiled, checking for any messages from his partner as he made his way out of bed, climbing into his chair and going to wash before he faced the oncoming day. It had been a few short weeks since they had first set foot on Genosha, and the world around them was unrecognisable. It had gone from somewhere no one could live, to somewhere that all mutants in need could call home.

No messages from Erik. Charles could feel slight concern bubbling within him, even though he knew that his boyfriend was damned good at what he did. Erik and Logan had a complete success rate when it came to rescuing mutants who needed help, and Charles would never dream of stopping them. Not when the two of them had suffered more than most at the hands of those who ran tests on their kind.

Erik would be fine, and home soon. But until he was home, Charles felt his absence burn within him, a hollowness settled in his gut, just above the injury that could have killed him.

He dressed and made his way outside, eager to see how the others were getting on. It was going to rain that afternoon, between two and four, after the farmers had finished for the day and before the children were out of class. Being able to schedule rainfall to the most convenient hours was a side effect of Ororo carefully manipulating the weather to ensure that their crops would grew and that they would survive the fragile first few months.

Charles longed to help Erik, to travel with him and rescue their kind, but he knew that wasn't where he was suited. It wasn't where he could be of most help, and even if he resented having to say goodbye to his lover while he did this, Charles knew he couldn't leave his people behind either.

There were some children playing today in the allotment that Ororo had helped them to set up, all clustered around their teacher. He watched as the little Wagner boy teleported up into a tree, looping his tail around a branch and then leaning down for a better look. He was laughing.

Kurt had been destined for a fighting ring when Logan had managed to intercept that particular rocket. He was young, his physical mutation obvious although he was only seven, and he had never known freedom. He knew what it was to be free now.

Raven walked over, leaning against the back of his chair. She was one of only two people he allowed to touch his chair, and she had a tendency to overuse the privilege.

"What is it, Raven?" he asked, looking up to see her leaning down above him, in her own natural blue form, scales thankfully partially hidden by a plain white dress with a red belt.

"Irene says they'll be home soon," Raven explained, and sheer relief swept through him. He trusted Erik, but it was always good to have your concerns put to rest by a precog.

"Thank you."

"She says you'll want to make up the guest room in your building." Raven said after a pause. Charles nodded. He didn't push for more information - he understood Irene's reasons for being secretive with what she had seen. More than that, he didn't want to make Raven feel pressured, after all the conversations they had shared about overreach of his powers.

"Thank you," Charles reached up, and squeezed his sister's scaled hand. "I'm glad you're here, Raven."

"I'm glad I'm here too," she said with a soft laugh. "I always said everything would fall apart without me."

"Well, you're right," Charles answered with a smile. "But it's okay. I'm not going to let you go."

"Is that a threat?" She grinned, embracing him for a moment. "I'll go and let Alex know his brother's almost back." With that, she wandered away, and Charles smiled to himself. It was hard to believe how much they had achieved, that they had found a way to be safe together, after everything. For a long time, this had all been a dream, but now Genosha was a reality. So far there weren't many, but he had to dream that in time more mutants would come to this safe haven that they had founded.

That progress filled his mind as he went to prepare the spare room, wondering what would be coming for them. He was sure he'd find out soon, but he sometimes wished he got the sneak-peeks of the future that Irene got. Still, she said that soon Erik would be home, and he trusted her about that. 

He finished making the bed, and went to check for any messages. Hank had asked him to call in, so he headed to the man's makeshift laboratory. When the Cerebro was there, Hank would use the lab on board, but otherwise he used the one that had been made up to meet his needs.

"What is it, Hank?"

Hank sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Logan and Erik were able to send some data packets they had found on their rescue mission. Information about the mutants in the labs."

"Okay?"

"They were trying to create artificial mutants." Hank answered. "Some of them... are made with DNA of individuals here, people who had given blood samples for medical treatment... they had no idea what was happening."

"What do you mean, Hank?"

Hank pulled up an image of a screen of a little girl who looked stunningly like Logan. "She's got claws. And they already fitted her with adamantium."

"They used Logan's genetic material to make her?" Charles asked, sickness twisting inside his stomach - he knew that Logan wouldn't be taking that particular news well.

"Yeah. There's a few children, all of different ages. She's one of the oldest. Most of the... the adult mutants had all been killed. They were trying to use these as weapons..." Hank muttered, glancing down at the floor, curling in on himself almost guiltily.

"What is it, Hank?" Charles asked, resisting the urge to rifle through his thoughts.

"Well, the samples - the genetic parents had no idea this was happening. It wasn't their fault, and some... some of them might not want to be parents. We've got samples that were used from some of the children, and I don't..." 

"Obviously they're not the parents," Charles tried to reassure him. "We'll support the children, but we aren't going to expect a child to raise another child simply because they had the misfortune of some blood being taken." 

Hank nodded quickly, looking up at him. "It wasn't their fault, obviously not, we won't blame them or-"

"Hank, do you have a child there?"

Hank shook his head, and sighed, but before he could say anything else Charles felt the brush of Erik's mind against his own. The Cerebro was close to returning. He wheeled out of the lab - whatever Hank had to say could wait when he had his lover to greet.

The Cerebro landed on the flat bit of rock that had been prepared for it. The hatch opened, the crew disembarking, followed by a small gaggle of children. A few of the mutants were already coming over to greet them and help them settle in - Irene leading the way with Raven by her side. Charles saw the two of them approach a shy little girl with a white streak in her hair, saw Irene raise one gloved hand in welcome, and then pull the child in for a cuddle. 

Charles tore his attention away from his sister and the happiness he could feel spilling from her, to look for Erik. Erik was normally among the first off the Cerebro, running down the steps to reunite with Charles. But today he wasn't appearing. Charles frowned, checking the rest of the crew, reaching out telepathically.

_Scott?_

_Yes, Charles?_

_Where's Erik? Is he alright?_ Charles asked, unable to stop the tinge of fear that was slipping through his thoughts.

 _He's... fine._ Scott answered, but there was a hesitation to that that Charles didn't like. He wheeled up towards the Cerebro, contemplating whether or not to go up, and sending his mind out for Erik.

 _Erik?_ There was a pause before he felt Erik's mind flicker in response, a degree of anxiety there that was concerning, when Erik was normally so very calm.

_Erik, what's wrong?_

_I'm sorry, Charles._ Erik said quietly, and then Charles could see him at the doorway. He didn't run down the way he normally did though. He walked slowly, and as he approached Charles could see why - in his arms there was a bundle. He crouched down in front of Charles, holding the bundle up towards him, and Charles could see that there was an infant nestled into the fabric. Erik had wrapped the child in his cape, so that only the softest down of green hair emerged from it.

"Erik?"

"She's mine. Genetically. Her and a couple of the others -" He gestured over towards where Raven was talking to a little girl of about five, who had a red glow around her. "I'm sorry..." With that, he sent forwards an image of what had caused the delay - the third child, a little boy who was refusing to leave the relative safety of the ship, and was able to wriggle out of Erik's grasp every time he got hold of him. "Charles, I can't abandon them."

"I'm not expecting you to," Charles reassured him. "I've already made up a bed for them, although we might need to arrange things differently - turn one of the offices into a bedroom. What are their names?"

"This one is Lorna, that's Wanda, Pietro... is being difficult."

"Takes after his father," Charles teased. "Now, I'll go and talk to him, and you check in on your crew."

Erik nodded, using his power to float Charles up the ramp. Once he was safely at the top, Charles put on his brakes, feeling for the child's mind. _Hello, Pietro._

 _Hello?_ The boy's thoughts were loud and uncertain, worried that he was going to be in trouble or not-safe. Charles tried to project a sense of comfort.

"It's alright Pietro. You and your sisters are safe now. You all are." Charles had barely finished speaking when a little boy was suddenly stood before him, hair shining silver under the clinical light of the ship.

"Hey," the boy mumbled. 

"Hey." Charles smiled. "Come on, you'll like Genosha, I promise."

"Can I sit on your chair? It looks fun."

"You can sit on my lap," Charles compromised, and Pietro climbed up, squealing as Charles made his way down the ramp and over to Erik's side.

Erik looked at him, and nodded. "We can do this?"

"We can do this," Charles agreed, pressing a kiss to his step-son's forehead, and then laughing as Pietro rushed off to grab his sister.

Erik passed Lorna over to Charles, with a shy smile. "This is your daddy, sweetheart."

"She's beautiful," Charles breathed, his heart full of love already. This was going to be a good place for their children, a good place for all mutant children. He had dreamed of it for years, and now it was real. Now it was everything that his infant daughter and his twins deserved.

He gazed up at Erik and smiled. "It's so good that you're home. We missed you a lot."

Erik nodded, managing a faint smile before walking away to find out what had been going on, his thoughts remaining cuddled up against Charles's even as he went to explain what he had found. 

Charles looked down at his daughter, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all! And I love all the work being shared for this week!


	3. Flowers

One day before the Cerebro's launch, almost everything was ready. Charles had secured legal rights to terraforming the G3 grade planet that they would soon call home. Charles was running through the ship manifests once again, just in case they'd missed anything obvious, and Erik was floating a small scrap of metal through the air.

He knew he couldn't help Charles with his current task - he'd already checked over everything, and was satisfied it was complete, but that didn't help his boyfriend feeling nervous. Erik didn't understand that exactly - when he was stressed, he turned back into the cold, calm man he had been when he'd first met Charles, hiding everything behind an icy wall that would help to keep him safe. But Charles was different. Charles loved and cared and wanted so much, and he had been planning for this his entire life. He was seeking reassurance that everything would be alright, and he found that comfort in checking and re-checking his lists.

All Erik could do was stay close, floating the metal he was playing with in the air, working on bending and shaping it, mixing together the two elements and then separating them out. It was calming to him, and he focused on where he was now, rather than where he had been when he had first begun such exercises.

Charles wheeled closer, his hand rubbed against Erik’s hip, showing him that he was where he belonged, and he smiled despite himself, turning in for a kiss and frowning when he saw the expression on Charles's face. 

As he watched, Charles went from sitting calmly to looking concerned, wheeling along the corridor, papers shoved down onto his lap. Erik followed, able to feel Logan's form in the corridor above.

Erik braced himself for a fight, not sure what was going on, but ready to handle whatever came their way.

Only what happened next was a girl of around eleven falling through the ceiling to land between them.

She looked at them in fright, before her eyes settled on the metal that Erik was playing with, watching curiously. Erik understood - if she was a mutant, then his actions showed her she wasn't alone. It was the kind of thing that required a few moments to adjust to.

"Hello there, Kitty," Charles said softly, moving closer to her. "It's really good to have you here with us."

"You know my name?" she asked, looking between them.

"I do," Charles agreed. "I'm a telepath, my friend Erik here can control metal, and Logan upstairs, the one that you gave quite a fright to, he can heal. We're mutants, Kitty. Just like you."

"It's true then?" she asked, looking between them, and Erik realised she was holding a bag with a cartoon pony on it, the image frozen in mid-step. "This is somewhere we can be safe?"

"It is," Charles agreed. "We weren't intending to have any children come with us yet, at least not ones without their parents. It's going to be a long journey. But..." Charles sighed, a frown crossing his face before he smiled again. "I'm sure you can stay, Kitty, if you'd like to. You can be safe here."

She looked up at Erik, trust shining in her eyes. He nodded, carefully pulling and manipulating the metal to make a small flower, perched on a metal hair clip. He held it out to her.

There was a momentary pause before she snatched it, placing it on her hair then nodding. "Is your friend very mad at me?"

"Logan? No, he's not mad at you, he's just scared. He's already talking to the teacher on the ship so she knows you are here, and he's seeing about setting up somewhere you can sleep."

She nodded quietly, and Charles gave her instructions as to where to go. Erik watched her walk away, turning to Charles. "We're keeping stowaways, now?"

"She needed somewhere safe and... this is why we're doing it. All of it. To help mutants in need." Charles smiled to himself. "Anyway, we've got space, just about, and her powers could be helpful."

Erik could recognise when Charles was saying something just to placate him, but it didn't stop it being true - Kitty's powers might be helpful. There was no point in pretending he wanted rid of the girl, just in case Charles thought he was serious. 

"I suppose she can stay, as long as she pulls her weight."

Charles grinned at him, and Erik rolled his eyes fondly.

*** 

Erik had thought, somewhat foolishly, that after the little girl had been given her flower that would be the end of it. She could find someone better with children, like Logan or Charles, to bother, and he could carry on in peace.

Only Kitty seemed to think they were friends. She'd appear out of walls at odd hours, still clutching her bag, and with her metal flower in her hair. She'd show him the treasures she'd brought when she'd sneaked on board - a few books, a couple of jigsaw pieces, a doll that had seen better days, a shiny rock, a feather, a stick. She'd hold them up for him, and he'd try to fumble through saying the right words.

It was easier to talk to her about metalwork, shaping the metal into flowers, or other small scraps, decorating some of the panelling on the Cerebro with patterns that Kitty sketched out. She didn't come to see him much, but he hadn't interacted with children at all since he was her age. He didn't want to get it wrong, and that fear made each ten minute period she spent with him feel like several hours.

But she was happy enough, and the journey continued, the Cerebro leaving Earth and the human settlements behind, heading for the G3 planet that Charles's sister had started to call "Genosha". He would sit down with her when she appeared, twisting metal into a little ornament for her - often a flower, or sometimes a butterfly or a leaf or whatever else she thought of that day - and let her talk. He wondered what it would be like, if this was all he ever did - not having to worry about fighting or defending mutants. Just twisting pieces of scrap into toys for children. Doing something good with his powers, something that only helped.

It was a dream, but it bothered him. He curled up around Charles that night, and Charles turned towards him with a knowing look. "You could do it, you know. If that's what you need - we'd manage without you fighting. You deserve peace as well, Erik."

"I want to help," Erik answered after a moment of consideration, because if Charles was offering, he deserved for the idea to be properly considered. "I like the idea, but I want these children to know peace. And for now, the best way I can help them is to fight for their safety."

Erik nodded, smiling, and then sending forth the mental image of the two of them, both old and grey, Charles reading with a blanket on his knees, while nearby Erik made metal flowers to hand out to the children. It was a good dream.

Charles squeezed his hand. "One day."

"One day," Erik echoed, surprised to find that he believed it. They hadn't found peace yet, but that didn't mean the day wouldn't come when they would be free to live in comfort, surrounded by what they had built. That was Charles's dream. He wasn't sure it was real, but he desperately wanted it to be. He wanted that simple joy, the kind of life he never would have imagined before Charles.

For now, he had to focus on fighting, on doing what he could to protect their kind so that one day they could live in peace.

He knew that, and Charles knew that.

But it turned out, Kitty didn't know that, and Kitty knew everyone on the ship. It wasn't long after her arrival that other people started to approach Erik to ask for small ornaments, little decorations to brighten their own days or those of friends or family.

Erik could have said no, could have refused to spend his life as a performing monkey. But he didn't bother to say no. He didn't want to say no.

As the ship journeyed on, he saw more of the mutants start to use things he had made, he realised Charles was right. There was more to him than his ability, but what his ability could do was able to bring joy to the other mutants, including to those that for a long time had no reason to be happy.

A smug sense of satisfaction burrowed into his chest with the knowledge that he had a value and a skill that was solely his own.

He gathered a few more metal scraps, and set about making Charles a bouquet of flowers that would never go old. Just because he could.

He had never planned to believe in Charles's fantasy of what mutants could be. But as he looked over at the vase he had made, on the shelf in their shared cabin, he knew that he had committed to Charles's dream after all.


	4. Pygmalion

Charles had dreamed for years of going out into the world and helping his fellow mutants, but it was only recently that things were starting to fall in place - that it began to look possible. He smiled at that thought - the idea he would be able to do so much more than his family had ever thought. That he would be able to create a haven for mutant kind.

It depended, of course, on successfully purchasing the Cerebro, which was the best ship that he could find within his budget - it was fast, and large enough to support the initial group that would found the planet. Everything was close to falling into place, but there were still potential obstacles. One of those obstacles was Sebastian Shaw, who was funding a number of research projects into mutation, and seemed to be very much opposed to Charles's goal and work.

Charles tried his best to stay civil as he smiled up at the man, reaching up to shake his hand, and ignoring the slight sting as Shaw looked around for an assistant - someone to direct questions to, rather than having to speak to a man in a wheelchair. Charles had come to the meeting alone. After a few moments, the man nodded and extended his hand to Charles's in response.

"Hello, Mister Xavier."

"Doctor," Charles corrected. He didn't normally insist on formality, but he could tell when someone was already forming opinions on him based on the chair, and he refused to allow that to continue. 

"Doctor Xavier, then," Shaw sneered, and Charles smiled up at him peacefully, smug in the knowledge that he had successfully unsettled the other man.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me, Mister Shaw," Charles answered, hesitating slightly at the step leading up to his office. It wasn't very high, and he would be able to bump his chair up over it, but it was still an additional difficulty. He knew logically that Shaw couldn't have had a step put in just to make Charles's life more difficult, but it felt like that was the case.

Before he could adjust himself and tip the wheels back, he found himself suddenly floating.

It was quite a disconcerting sensation. He'd floated before, although that was in his high-tech hover-chair that he'd used to get around at university. He preferred the sensation of being able to move himself, which was why he used a manual chair, and why suddenly finding himself in midair was particularly unwelcome.

The floating only lasted a second, before he was once again placed on the ground, now the other side of that step. He looked around for the cause, and noticed a man with a cold expression stood beside Shaw's desk.

"Good boy, Erik." Shaw praised him, and for a moment a frown flickered across the man's forehead, before he was back to that calm, cold expression.

Charles hesitated, reaching out towards the man telepathically. _Hello Erik. I'd appreciate it if you didn't move my chair without permission._

There was no response, and Charles sighed, returning his focus to Shaw and not the dull-eyed bodyguard. He wasn't sure what to expect from Shaw. It certainly hadn't been the request that Charles hand over some of his team. But apparently, Shaw seemed to think that it was acceptable to ask to borrow Scott for research into the brain damage that made his power uncontrollable. Charles bristled at the very idea, but he kept himself civil.

If there was one good thing about how he had been raised, it was that he had learned long ago how to smile and simper when what he really wanted to do was punch someone in the face.

The meeting came to no real conclusion - Charles wasn't willing to barter with his crew, and Shaw wasn't willing to hand over the Cerebro to create an off-world mutant colony. They agreed to meet again in a few days, and Charles bid his goodbyes to both of them before heading to the door.

He paused at the step, and 'Erik' walked closer, looking at him expectantly. Throughout the whole meeting Erik had given no real sign of awareness, but here he was, looking towards Charles expectantly. _You can lift my chair,_ Charles told him, recognising the request for permission for what it was.

The movement was gentle and smooth this time, Erik trying to be careful. "Thank you, Erik." Charles said as he wheeled away. There was a faint sense of warmth tingling in Charles's mind in response.

He returned home to find Raven and Irene stood there, Raven grinning widely while Irene's smile was more subtle. He sighed, wondering how he'd managed to fail if Irene had thought he'd get it right. Still, now wasn't the time. He pushed down that concern and smiled back at them.

"How was he?" Raven asked.

"Shaw was unpleasant. I had better conversation with his assistant, and he didn't speak."

That news seemed to make Raven far happier than it had any right to, given that Charles had utterly failed to gain the necessary licenses for the Cerebro, and without it the entire plan wouldn't succeed.

"Don't worry," Irene said softly. "You'll be alright." 

Charles nodded, muttering to himself as he went to research any alternative ship. He refused to let his dream slip through his fingers due to one man's unpleasantness.

***

Shaw didn't want Charles to succeed. That much was blindingly obvious. He didn't like the idea of a mutant utopia, didn't want some of the more valuable mutants moved off world, to create their own society free of persecution.

But Shaw's views weren't the only ones that mattered, and Charles had lived his entire life learning how to be charming. He turned on that charm now, listening to the concerns of humans who saw the world as a risk, a threat of potential war or a damaging lack of resources.

Today, there was a gathering of various people who objected, and he knew he needed to succeed. Shaw was there, with his bodyguard, along with a handful of others who had been most vocal about the risks of his plan. Charles listened as he was challenged about hoarding wealth, about trying to deprive humanity of the tools that could fuel the next jump in space travel, and he nodded sympathetically.

"I can understand your fears, Senator. But I object to what I am doing being classified as hoarding of wealth - this isn't money we are discussing, but individuals. They have remarkable powers, yes, but that isn't all that they are. They should be respected, and able to make their own choices. I'm not forcing any of them to come with me, and I know a few of them have already expressed an interest in helping with any emergencies that come to light - something we will be in a position to do, if we had a ship like the Cerebro to serve as transport."

He felt someone pressing a thought towards him. It was done clumsily, but he heard it nonetheless. _Pompous windbags._

He looked at the assembled faces of old men who could decide his fate. Then he saw Sebastian's bodyguard, standing close, but there was something different in his eyes today - a life, a brightness, that hadn't been there before. He smiled to himself.

_Why, hello, Erik._

Another slight twitch, a sign he had reached the right person, and Charles relaxed a little. He still needed to charm the assembled group, but he'd been born for that. And Erik proved a rather delightful diversion now that they were talking.

 _I don't see why we should help humans in need._ Erik thought, and yet there was something there that made Charles suspect he was merely parroting what he had been told, rather than saying what he believed. 

_Because they are people as we are. We might not always like them, but we should help if we are in a position to enable it,_ Charles argued. _They would deny us our humanity. We must not deny them theirs._

_Easy for you to say. People look at you and see a human._

_People look at me and see a wheelchair._ Charles snapped slightly, following the words with an apology. _I understand your concern, my friend, but humans are eager to deny my humanity even before they know I am a mutant._

Erik hesitated for a while, and Charles worried he'd chased him away, but then Erik caught his eye. _Do you mean what you say about giving mutants the freedom to choose? Even if their powers could be helpful to you?_

 _I do._ Charles said firmly. _I believe that we should work together, but I won't force someone to use their powers for me._

For a moment, a flicker of memory crossed between them - Erik failing to save his mother's life, being too slow, too weak. And then it was gone. Charles lost the thread of the conversation he was holding with the senators, so much pain and sorrow was in that thought.

 _I don't think I could be anything other than a weapon._ Erik sent across. _That's what he made me._

Charles didn't hesitate. Losing Shaw would make gaining the Cerebro more difficult, not impossible. But from what he'd seen, Erik needed rescue - if he was serious about helping other mutants, that meant he couldn't sacrifice one at a time like this.

_Come with me. You would have a place on board my ship. Your talents would be helpful, but if you don't want to use them - if you just want to leave that man, then let us help you. Let me help you._

Erik nodded - the first time that Charles had seen him react by choice other than when he was instructed. At times, Erik had seemed almost like a puppet, but as he watched Erik cut those strings, walking across the floor of the meeting, to stand by Charles's side.

Charles looked up at him in shock, as Shaw was spluttering. 

Erik smiled, and his smile wasn't serene. It was full of teeth and anger and power. "I suggest we agree with Charles. Because I've listened. Shaw has blackmail material on every one of you, and I've learned it all."

The room descended into chaos, the humans turning among themselves, shouting and raising voices - and through it all, Erik stood by Charles's side in the eye of the storm, that smile on his face. When they left, he walked by Charles, and they returned home to find Raven and Irene had set up a party, with balloons and streamers and buffet food.

Charles raised an eyebrow, as his phone began to ring. Answering it, he frowned to hear Bolivar Trask.

"I've been tasked with informing you that we have decided to approve your request for Cerebro," the man spat. Charles was surprised - Trask made very little secret of the fact he hated mutants, despised them. He wasn't the kind of man to want them to succeed.

"Thank you." Charles said softly, and the line went dead.

When news of Shaw's arrest hit the paper the following day, Charles was too busy working on the necessary adjustments for Cerebro, with Erik at his side. Erik was invaluable - skilled with his power, intelligent, and fiercely proud. He was also handsome, and quick to communicate telepathically. Charles could scarce believe how lucky he had been to find a man like him.

Erik was right - he had been forged as a weapon. He could look at anything and work out how to weaponize it, knew how to fight, knew how to hurt. But he was making himself into so much more than that.

A month before the Cerebro's launch, Erik leaned down and kissed him. And Charles knew this wasn't Erik as a weapon. This was Erik's choice. And with that knowledge, Charles kissed back.


	5. Transformation

The twelve weeks of travel that it had taken to arrive at the G3 planet that would be their home - Genosha, as everyone had taken to calling it - were some of the longest of Charles's life. Not because of the stress of trying to captain the ship, although that didn't help. And not because of trying to settle the various tensions that bubbled up on board. But because of the pressure of hoping that when they arrived, they would reach somewhere that could be home. He'd brought every person on the ship along on his adventure, following his dream, and he couldn't help worrying that something would go wrong. That somehow something wouldn't work, and that rather than a homeworld, he would end up leading them towards an empty and desolate planet. They deserved better.

The Cerebro was far from the fastest ship in the fleet, but it was also far from the slowest. It made the journey sedately, carefully - and that was what was needed, if they were all to arrive at their destination intact. 

It had gone well, their journey away from the only world Charles had ever known, chasing his dream. Now, there was the faint outline in the distance of their radar screen. Their new home.

Genosha was smaller than Earth, but had a roughly comparable gravitational field, and Erik was fairly sure he would be able to even up any problems that arose. The atmosphere was close to breathable although rather high in carbon dioxide - that was where Lin came in, using her skills to grow the plants they had brought with them, and increase the oxygen in the air. There were a few of the children, especially little Jamaica, who were talented with plants, and they would be able to create a rainforest, helped by Ororo controlling the weather, and Bobby helping to create the water that would be needed, with Storm's assistance. Darwin would be able to venture in areas that were too dangerous for others, and Alex, Scott, Rictor and a handful of others would be able to reshape the rocky outcrops that covered Genosha's surface. Janos could help spread the soil created over the ground and keep the air moving. More plants would follow, and hopefully within a few weeks there would be something approaching a home.

At first, the crew would continue to live on the Cerebro, but the plan was for them to be able to set up housing on the planet soon enough. Once one area was liveable, they could spread out, make it all their home. This level of terraforming would take years, if not decades, for humans.

They weren't humans.

This was their place, a sanctuary from a world that didn't want them. Charles just had to hope it would work, as he watched the small dot grow bigger on the radar screen.

Erik sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "You're still worried?"

"What if... what if it isn't suitable? What if we can't fix it, and I brought you all out here to fail, Erik, what if-"

Erik pressed a finger to Charles's lips, and shook his head. "What if we succeed, Charles? Even if it’s harder than you expect - we have a home. If it stays uninhabitable, we adjust. We will need to work a bit harder, but we could make domes, or bubbles, and live in those. It's not a lost cause, Charles." _You're not a lost cause._ The fondness that tinged those words stopped Charles from objecting too loudly.

It was difficult, that final wait, paused on the brink of greatness or failure, his heart racing inside of his chest every time he saw that tiny dot that might one day be his home.

He didn't think he could have stood that wait, if it wasn't for Erik's solid presence at his back, the silent reassurance that things were going to be alright.

He wasn't sure he could believe it, but Erik was there, and that meant things were going to be okay.

He leaned his head on Erik's shoulder as the Cerebro began its last descent, the planet growing bigger and bigger on the screen in front of him. He waited, gazing down at rocky barren ground that might one day be their home.

G1 were luxury planets, the kind occupied by the super-wealthy. G2 planets were adapted to be liveable on, and G3 had the potential for life. It was hard to believe that, when faced with an unending expanse of cold, lifeless rock. But he had read all the reports, and he knew it was possible. He just had to believe.

The Cerebro touched down on Genosha's surface, and Charles let out a sigh of relief. They were home.

*** 

It was Darwin who led the first foray out onto their new planet, his adaptation meaning that he would be comparatively safe. Logan accompanied him, and Charles watched curiously as they began to explore. 

Scott had done well finding a smooth area for them to land, and the two first explorers wandered across the outcrop the Cerebero rested on, before returning, Logan a little short of breath. They nodded in greeting as they got back on the ship.

"What's it like out there?" Erik asked.

"Cold," Logan muttered, brushing away a thin layer of ice that had formed on his jacket. "But Hank said that was to be expected at night in this area. I wouldn't recommend running a marathon in that air, but... it's not going to kill us."

Charles let out a sigh of relief, and nodded. "Rest. Tomorrow, when the sun is up, we can get to work."

Erik nodded, resting a hand on Charles's shoulder as the two of them made their way back to their shared cabin. Charles couldn't help feeling almost anxious with excitement, so hopeful and full of dreams that he could barely sleep. 

Eventually, though, he fell into rest, lulled into it by the presence of Erik at his back. 

The next day, he greeted the party that would be laying the foundation of their new world.

"Good luck out there. Thank you. If this... if this succeeds, it will be because of you." He made eye contact with each of them as he spoke, seeing how some of them looked away shyly after a moment, and others smiled. These weren't the mutants that were always viewed as heroes - some of their powersets were overlooked, or ignored, and others were seen just as tools. But they would be Genosha's heroes.

Charles smiled up at Erik, and let them leave Cerebro, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched them make their way down the ramp. He longed to join them, but he knew for now it wouldn't be sensible. He would have to wait, until they had completed their task. For now, all he could do was watch.

***

He didn't have to watch for long. Genosha was transformed by the hard work of those few, who planted and reshaped and watered, who made it rain and spread the earth and brought flowers to life. He needed to organise the delivery of more plants, of certain animals, and other things - there was no life on Genosha naturally, so they had a fresh slate. But when Charles wheeled down the ramp for the first time, it wasn't to the grey desolate barren that they had landed on. It was down onto a meadow in the middle of a clearing, filled with wildflowers, a small forest a short distance away.

He rested in his chair, in the middle of the clearing, gazing out at his world. Their Genosha. Raven walked over and squeezed his hand, and Erik took his place silently by Charles's side, and Charles stared out at his dream. He'd never known it could be so beautiful.

They were home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and commented so far! I really enjoyed playing in this world - Space AU are very new to me. Two chapters to go!


	6. Family

Genosha was a paradise. Not perfect, but as close to it as they could manage, working together on a project unlike anything that had been done at any point in the world's long history - because now they were fighting together, working together, to make a home for their kind.

The children that Erik and the others had rescued were beginning to settle in, to build new lives and find new ways to be. For children that had grown up in clinical, temperature controlled and sterilised settings, being able to be outside, to play in nature, was something remarkable.

The children were playing today, and Charles was keeping an eye from a distance - he and Hank had started to educate them, but he had decided to take a few days off from teaching, because he was putting together a claim to have Genosha accepted as one of Earth's outposts. 

Which for now, meant he was arguing with Erik, while he cuddled Lorna on his lap.

"Charles, you can't want to be an 'outpost' of Earth," Erik muttered, headbutting his shoulder in irritation. "It's not... not something that we'd want. We're better, we're beyond-"

"Official recognition gives us rights to our territory, beyond one person's purchase. For now, if I were to get into debt, they could confiscate this planet, and the Cerebro both. If we get recognition they can't take the planet from us, and then I can bequeath the Cerebro to the planet, and it's secure." Charles explained, reaching out to brush his fingers through Erik's hair. "I know you don't like it. I understand that you think we should strive to make a world that's just for ourselves-"

"We don't _need_ humans Charles, not after everything that they've done. We can be free of them, free of their restrictions and their ideas and their abuse," Erik explained. "You can't expect the children who were in labs, being cut open by human scientists, to be delighted by the idea of being considered one of them."

"They don't need to be delighted, Erik," Charles muttered, sighing as Lorna began to fuss. Erik reached out, hovering a few metal discs just out of her reach, circling them around each other. She gazed up in sheer wonder, her little stubby fingers reaching out to grasp the metal, and he teased her, bobbing them up and down just beyond her. "They need to be safe. Recognition of Genosha will achieve that. I just need to put in the requests..."

"I don't want my children to be in debt to humans, Charles."

"Our children," Charles corrected, an edge of bitterness to his voice, "aren't going to be in debt to humans. But our children aren't the only ones that matter. There are others that need help, and it will be easier to rescue them if we have acknowledgement. I'm not asking you to be a diplomat, Erik. I understand that you aren't, and I'm grateful for what you do instead. But I _have_ to be. That's where my strength lies. And doing this will help our children, and other children. It will make our planet safer, Erik. I understand, but I can't-"

Erik's frown deepened, but he was no longer looking at Charles. Instead, his focus was on his youngest daughter, who was continuing to wave her chubby arms up into the air, squealing in delight as she looked up at the metal discs.

"Erik?"

"Shush," Erik snapped, and Charles startled slightly - Erik was never normally one to take that kind of tone. He started to move the metal faster, and then slower, and the little girl reached for it, gurgling to herself.

He brought one little disc down closer towards her, having it brush against the very tips of her fingers. She squealed, and he repeated the action, and that time she got her hand around it, and it dropped onto her.

"Erik!" Charles scolded as he reached to move the metal before Lorna shoved it into her mouth. Her fingers grabbed it, and she tried to cling to it.

Charles sighed, carefully easing her fingers away, and Erik looked at him. "I didn't drop it, Charles."

Charles frowned. It took a moment or two for the meaning of Erik's words to filter through to his mind.

Erik hadn't dropped the coin.

"She... she pulled it?"

Erik nodded, gazing at his youngest daughter in wonder. Pietro was a speedster, and no one was quite able to explain what Wanda could do, and Erik was so proud of both of them. He'd taken them in as soon as he had found them, determined to raise them well and let them be loved. Charles had supported him in that, and he loved his older children just as much as Erik did.

The two of them had assumed Lorna's mutation was limited to her unusual hair. Erik took a lot of pride in that, happy to talk to anyone who would listen about how striking and vibrant the green was. But if she had inherited his metallokinesis as well...

Erik blinked back tears, and smiled down at her. "Such a clever little girl," he told her, bringing the discs into play again, hovering them through the air, having them rise and fall before her.

"She's tugging at them," he whispered, when she reached forwards, and he carefully stretched the disk wider, so she wouldn't choke on it, before he let her grab it. 

She squealed in excitement, bringing it to her mouth and gumming on the edge.

Erik looked up at Charles and nodded. "You're sure about this recognition?"

"It'll put us in a stronger situation than we're currently in," Charles promised. "I don't want anyone to try to take this world away from us. From her."

"From any of the children," Erik agreed after a moment. "Alright. I don't like it, but I agree it’s necessary."

"That's all I ask from you," Charles promised, leaning up to kiss him, laughing when Lorna wiggled in his lap, annoyed at momentarily not being the focus of Charles's attention. He kissed Erik a moment longer before his attention turned to his daughter.

She blinked up at him with brilliant green eyes, and he smiled at her. "Okay, sweetie, you can take after your dad's powers, and you snore just as loudly as him, but I'm counting on you to be much less grumpy, okay? Do you think you can do that?"

She gurgled in what Charles hoped was agreement, and Erik rolled his eyes, standing up as a blur of silver rushed forwards.

"Hi dad! Hi dad!" Pietro squealed, bouncing from foot to foot, an endless ball of energy. "Can we have dinner with Auntie Raven tonight? She said that we should ask you."

"Of course-" Charles agreed, slightly startled when his son grabbed Lorna and disappeared again.

 _Raven, incoming._ he thought loudly in his sister's direction, and felt her answering amusement. 

_They're already here, Charles. Irene thought the two of you might want a nice peaceful night, if you finally sorted out your little tiff._

_We did not have a 'tiff'._ Charles objected. _We had a reasoned, well thought through, and complex debate._

 _Of course you did. Have a good evening._ Raven mentally pulled away, and he let her go, looking up at Erik and smiling.

"Apparently our evening just became free. I need to finish this application, but then-"

"I'm sure we can have a good evening," Erik agreed, stifling a yawn and stealing another kiss before he headed away to check on the preparations for the next long journey the Cerebro would be headed on. 

Charles watched him go with a smile, able to feel the thoughts that were lingering, Erik's sheer joy at Lorna's ability - and the gifts of all of his children. His love for Charles, his plans for proposing one day soon. 

And beneath it all, a sense of exhaustion. Charles smiled to himself. He supposed it would be reasonable to use tonight to get some rest. The ring, which Erik kept in a pocket and thought about so loudly, would be able to wait for another day. Charles didn't mind waiting, not when it was their wonderful children that were the cause of his tiredness. He'd wait forever if he had to, because even if they were exhausting, his family brought him joy every day.


	7. Wedding

Charles sighed slightly, rubbing his forehead and looking down at his plans.

Marrying Erik would be the single most amazing moment in his life. He didn't doubt that for a moment. It would be something that he would treasure forever, and which he wanted to be perfect. Not only was it important to them, it would be important to Genosha - their leader being the first mutant to marry on the new planet, now that such marriages would be recognised across the known worlds. Two marriages had already happened, Irene and Raven and Scott, Jean and Logan promising themselves to each other, recognised on Genosha, and written into law, but this would be the first recognised interplanetarily from the start.

It would be wonderful, a celebration of the two of them and all they had achieved, a fresh start for their planet, a sign of how far they had come. It was a momentous occasion, the ring Erik had crafted with such care now resting against his finger. And he was caught up on this silly little detail.

He looked down at the page before him and sighed, trying to work out what colour scheme they could go with. It wasn't that he had any strong preference either way, and nor did Erik. But he wanted the bridesmaids and their flower girl to wear dresses of the same colour. 

Which would normally be fine, but when Raven and Wanda were your bridesmaids, and little Lorna was excited to be the flower girl, you had a lot of clashing colours to contend with.

He frowned. This had to be solvable. He had negotiated trade deals with hostile human planets, arranged for transfers of mutant prisoners, ensured Genosha's recognition on the interstellar stage. He refused to be defeated by trying to pick out a dress colour.

"Purple?" Erik suggested, and Charles considered it, mentally picturing each of them in the shade Erik pointed out. It worked.

"I love you," Charles murmured. "Marry me. Please." 

"That's the idea." Erik claimed his lips in a gentle kiss. "It's going to be perfect, you know? I get to marry you. Hell, everyone could be naked and it would still be the best day of my life."

"Please don't give Raven ideas," Charles answered, kissing away Erik's laughter. "And there's already all kinds of rumours about what we're up to. Let's not add to them."

Erik laughed again, pressing another kiss to Charles's forehead and then pulling back a little to stare at the pages. "How's it going?"

Charles interlinked their hands and squeezed. "Soon," he promised.

***

Soon came a couple of weeks later, at sunset, in a beautiful forest clearing lined with lavender, which Lin and Jamaica had made specially for the big event.

It felt like all of Genosha's small population had turned out, crowding into the clearing. Several of the children were just sitting among the lavender, and a few of the adults were resting on convenient outcrops of rock or felled tree-trunks. 

Erik gazed at him, letting Irene wrap the dark purple ribbon around their wrists. "Charles, I swear to you that I love you, now, forever and always. Under the light of the sun, and the dark of the night, nothing shall pull me away from you. Though I travel across the stars, I will return home, to my family, and to my love."

As the ceremony continued, the sun set completely, and the blackness of space opened out above them. Stars shone, and flickers of light passed across the expanse as meteors soared overhead.

Charles tangled his fingers with Erik's, managing a smile.

"I swear to you, under the gaze of the stars and in the company of our friends, that I will live my life for you, forever and always. I will love you, laugh with you, listen to you, and never dream of leaving your side. I am glad today to officially gain not only your hand, Erik, but to open my family officially to your daughters and son." Charles turned to the children and smiled. "Each of them I love more than I could ever express. We have a long journey ahead of us, but I know that every moment of that journey, you will be at my side."

The rest of the ceremony passed in a haze, Charles distracted by the way Erik's eyes shone in the starlight.

He kissed him softly, when they were granted permission by Irene, who then promptly kissed the maid-of-honour. Charles wasn't entirely sure that was what the officiant of the wedding was meant to do, but given his and Erik's relationship was now official, he didn't want to question it too much.

The clearing was filled with cheering and laughter, and he glanced around, touched to see how many of his friends were there. This small community that he had built was a sign of hope, a sign of what mutants could be - what they deserved to be. He leaned up, his arms around Erik's neck, and Erik nuzzled against him for a moment, before Erik used his power to lift Charles's chair higher for another kiss.

Charles was happy to kiss back, feeling the tension that had been there before fade, because for today, at least, they had been victorious. After being through so much, they were together, and nothing that would come to bother them would be able to change that.

The little boy whose telescope had been smashed had become a man who belonged in the stars. He gripped onto Erik, lit only by the light of the moons in the sky above, surrounded by friends and family, and felt his heart soar as high as any comet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of Cherik week! I hope you have enjoyed, and that it's all worked well together. Thank you for reading and supporting, special thanks to Lavenderlotion for betaing, and to all those who have commented.


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